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Networks & Trust

Why It Matters

The Internet Society’s Trust and Identity initiative recognises that in order to be trusted, the Internet must provide channels for secure, reliable, private, communication between entities, which can be clearly authenticated in a mutually understood manner. The mechanisms that provide this level of assurance must support both the end-to-end nature of Internet architecture and reasonable means for entities to manage and protect their own identity details.

A trusted Internet takes into account security, transaction protection, and identity assertion and management. Given the network dependence on unique numbers and the escalating amount of geolocation data being gathered, the privacy implications of the current Internet represent a significant and growing concern.

Our Work

Several research programmes within the Internet Society work to ensure trust is a primary design element at every layer of the Internet’s architecture, and in some cases work to redesign or improve existing elements to meet emerging requirements.